


Bathtime in B Sharp

by OneOfThoseThings



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: (the usual), Banter, Bickering, Boundary Issues, Cotton Candy Fluff, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Fluff without Plot, One Shot, Sharing a Bath, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:34:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29154387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneOfThoseThings/pseuds/OneOfThoseThings
Summary: Donna and the Doctor have to take a medicinal bath.That's it. That's the plot.
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Donna Noble
Comments: 14
Kudos: 55





	Bathtime in B Sharp

**Author's Note:**

> Shoutout to Quercusrobur for beta reading this pointless fluff!

“You want me to _what?!_ ” Donna squawked, hitting an impressively shrill register usually only achievable by birds of prey. 

“It’s a medicinal bath,” the Doctor said again, trying for a reasonable tone. “And _I_ don’t _want_ you to get in it. _You_ _need_ to get in it.”

“I’ll tell you what I need― _I_ need an intergalactic tour guide who knows the difference between a pretty seaweed bouquet and the alien version of a Portuguese Man-o-War!” 

“I’ve _said_ I was sorry about that!” the Doctor reminded her, just barely managing to dodge the handful of whatever it was she threw at him. 

“Not sorry enough! Now bugger off and let me out― _Oi!!_ ” He caught her on her next attempted dodge and managed to get her two steps closer to the tub before she got him with a knee. 

“Donna!” he yelped. “You can’t just wait it out! The venom can eat through human tissue in under an hour! It’s been twenty-eight minutes!”

“I’m not stripping for you in some alien snow globe just because _you_ can’t be arsed to go get the TARDIS!” 

“It’s like two-way glass― we can see _out,_ but they can’t see _in!_ And the TARDIS would provide the exact same treatment, but it would take that much longer! You’ve spent too long arguing already!” He faked left and caught her when she tried to duck by on the right. “If you think it’s stinging now, you do _not_ want to know what happens once it gets to the subcutaneous layer!” 

“Oi! Hands!!” Donna tried to twist away, but she hissed when the movement dragged her top across the worst of the sting on her back. 

“Don’t do _that!_ ” the Doctor snapped, getting a bit worried about the clock. He managed to get her back over to the tub and locked one leg around, giving him just enough range to tug her top away at the back. An angry welt was already forming, spidering up pale skin. “Donna, you absolutely have to get in that bath _right now!_ Here, I can help with your shirt.” 

“Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?!” 

“What?!” He caught her before she could tear off her own skin by accident. “Donna, stop being ridiculous! You’re injured! The treatment is right here! Just―!” He managed to get all of one button undone at her collar before she slapped him away and then slapped him across the face on the way back. “ _Donna!_ ” 

“Stop pawing at me, you alien pervert! If it wasn’t for me, you’d be halfway through whatever that giant jellyfish has for a digestive tract right now!” 

“Exactly!” the Doctor shouted, startling them both. “So let me help you!” He used her baffled pause to get another two buttons loose. 

“Oi!!” Donna wrenched her blouse tighter and nearly doubled over as the fabric pulled against her back. When she bent down he noticed the spidering welts had turned an angry violet. 

“You’re out of time!” he had to raise his voice over hers. “Get in the bath _right now!_ ” 

“I’m not getting naked in front of you!” Donna howled. 

“Why not?” the Doctor asked, baffled.

“What?!?!” She reached an entirely new vocal register. “What do you _mean_ why not?!?!?”

A lightbulb went off in the Doctor’s mind. “I’m not here to _watch!_ I’m having the bath as well!”

“ _You’re―?!_ What are you doing _now?!_ ” 

The Doctor shucked off his own jacket and started working on his cuffs. “I’d assumed you’d prefer― what’s that phrase you use?― ‘ladies first?’” He tugged his tie loose, dropping it in the same pile and made quick work of his buttons. “An incoherent concept, I keep telling you. You humans are always so up in arms about your concepts of ‘gender.’” He stripped his trousers off and kicked his trainers off to the side. 

“Why are _you_ naked now?!” Donna shrieked, throwing her hands over her own eyes. 

“As you pointed out, I’ve got just as much venom on me. More, probably― I _was_ half inside it. And it’s had longer to set!” He resumed herding her back toward the bath with a little more success this time. 

“I mean why are you naked _right now with me?!_ ” Donna shrieked, trying to dodge, but keeping one hand over her eyes and seeming a lot less willing to actively push him off now. 

“They’ve only got the one tub,” the Doctor reminded her. “It’s for ceremonial purposes. This isn’t a hospital!” 

“Yeah, I’m not mistaking _any of this_ for _standard hospital procedure!_ ” 

“Do you need help with your trousers?” the Doctor asked, catching her by a hip before she tripped in fully clothed. 

“Hands! Hands! _Hands!!!”_ Donna squawked, swatting blindly. She connected with his abdomen and jerked back like she’d grabbed a live wire. “ _What_ did I just touch?!”

“What did you _hit_ , you mean? When did you get so violent?” He caught her again, but she didn’t smack him this time, too busy trying not to touch anything now. “Could you _please_ get in the bath that’ll keep our central nervous systems from going into shock?”

“Wh―!” Donna’s next objection cut off with a sharp yelp and a grimace. And based on the very unpleasant sensations crawling under his own skin, he was pretty sure they were getting close to the human limit. 

“Donna, it’s hurting you! In a moment it will be literally killing you! Please just―“

“Don’t wanna―“ She cut off again, actually doubling over this time. 

“Donna, _please!_ ” he begged. “It’s just a bath! A very necessary _medicinal_ bath!” He hissed as his own wounds started growing more apparent. “ _Please_ just get in!” 

“Oh, for― fine! Fine!!” Donna snapped. “You first! And turn around! And no peeking!” 

“For the last time, I’m not some hormonal human!” The Doctor levered himself over the edge, tried not to make any alarming noises as the gel sank in with a sharp tingling sensation. He started to turn away and then cast a dubious glance backwards. “…You’re not going to bolt the second I turn my back, are you?” 

“No, I’ve _just_ said―“

“Never mind!” he cut off whatever rant was incoming. “Just― I’m in and I’m turned around. And I’m not peeking!” He didn’t really hear anything, but he could feel Donna confirming at least two of those points. “You really should hurry,” he reminded her, trying to work out where he’d have the best bet of placing his feet if he needed to spring out after her. 

“Oh, shut it!” A fair amount of rustling started up and then a few moments later the bath buoyed up, lapping at the edges. Donna hissed through her teeth, no doubt getting the same uncomfortable feedback. “Is it supposed to _sting?!_ ”

“It’s not stinging, it’s effervescing,” the Doctor told her, trying not to sound too clenched around his own stinging sensations. 

“It’s like getting lemon juice on a paper cut!” Donna whined, but the levels buoyed up further. 

“Make sure you’re in up to the neck,” the Doctor reminded her. “You have welts up to your C5 vertebrae.” 

“Oh, and here I was only planning to go up to C12. That’s really helpful, thanks,” Donna said sarcastically, but the liquid level inched up again and the Doctor ducked down himself, making sure to coat everything. 

It really was a bit unpleasant, if he was honest. “Can I turn around now?”

“You don’t have some weird alien x-ray vision to go with all your extra fancy colors, do you?”

“No, and could you stop harping on about the vision? I can see _a few_ colors outside of your range― it’s not a personal insult!” 

Donna grumbled under her breath, but finally landed on, “Fine. But no commentary!” 

“Commentary?” the Doctor repeated blankly, turning around. 

Donna was ducked down as far as she could possibly go in the opaque liquid. Only her head was visible, with her hair fanned out over the surface, not saturated enough to sink yet. With the absolute death glare she had on, it gave her the look of a furious selkie. 

The Doctor wisely elected not to comment. 

“How long do we have to stay in here?” Donna asked after a suspicious beat. 

The Doctor blinked at her. “How would _I_ know that?” 

She glared harder. “Aren’t you supposed to be a doctor?!” 

Oh, right. He tried to come up with a believable estimate. “Half an hour?” 

“Are you _guessing?!_ ”

“Of _course_ I’m guessing! I’ve _just_ said―!”

“Oh, never mind!” Donna cut him off and began working her way to the far side like a strangely indignant buoy. “Are there ledges or things to sit on or―? Oh! Here we go…” She settled at the very furthest point in the admittedly not large container. “So we just sit here until it doesn’t sting anymore? That’s your big plan?”

“Pretty much!” The Doctor tried to settle on his own ledge, but it made his shoulders stick out. “Hm…” He wedged himself down at an angle, but his back wasn’t going to like that for any extended period of time. “Huh…” He considered kneeling on the bottom, but that meant he had to overextend his back to keep his head above the surface. “Hmm…”

“What on _Earth_ are you doing _now?!_ ” Donna chimed in judgmentally. 

“This ceremonial tub is clearly heightist.” The Doctor shifted again and had to jerk his chin up to avoid splashing. 

Donna barked out a laugh. “Those gangly limbs of yours not seeming like such an ‘evolutionary advantage’ now?” 

He glared. “You don’t mind when I can reach the high shelves!” 

“The high shelves where _you_ put things!” Donna corrected, but she was at least looking more entertained. “Can’t you just float a bit?” Her shoulders made a momentary appearance above the waterline as she shrugged. 

“I’m too dense,” the Doctor said. “Don’t _laugh!!_ ” 

“ _You’re_ the one who said it!” Donna laughed again, making little ripples across the surface. 

“I meant physically!” the Doctor clarified. He tried to let the liquid take some of the tension but he just sank like a stone. “Time Lords are more…” He gestured vaguely. “…Packed-in than humans.” 

“Oi, are you calling me fat!?” 

“What?!” The Doctor slipped a little, losing his footing. “No! I’m talking about _me!_ ” He was starting to get a little annoyed about it too, slipping around on the uneven surfaces. “Eleven dimensions packed into three gets a bit dense! If you must know!”

Donna snickered. “You _look_ like an eleven-dimensional half-drowned ferret.” 

“I can’t get my balance!”

“Poor Spaceman,” Donna cooed sarcastically. “Too tall and skinny for tubs.” 

“I’m _not_ ―!“ He slipped again, nearly dunking himself. “Is it getting slicker?!” 

Donna made a wiggly motion under the surface. “You know, I think it is…” She cocked her head. “Maybe it does that while it soaks in? Or when you thrash around in it like a madman?” 

The Doctor sat back on the ledge, hunching a bit to keep himself properly under, but he nearly slid right back off. “This is rubbish!” he sputtered, only catching himself at the last second. 

“Honestly, it’s just sitting still!” Donna said, far too entertained now. 

“Easy for you to say!” The Doctor slipped again.

“Are you actually going to drown in the bath because you can’t sit still for five minutes?” Donna wondered. 

“I’m _trying_ to sit still! It’s this blasted tub!” the Doctor argued, and nearly got a mouthful of goo for his troubles. “And this gel is clearly adhering to me more strongly! It’s like an oil slick!” 

“Oh, for― Fine! Here!” Donna shifted back, until her head was resting just at the lip of tub and a moment later something warm and wriggling caught the Doctor’s shin. 

“What’s―?! Is that your _foot?!_ ” He’d have probably jumped, but he didn’t actually have any leverage to manage it. 

“No, it’s the tub monster,” Donna said sarcastically. She groped around with her toes, tickling like mad. 

“What are you _doing?!_ ” the Doctor yelped. 

“Working out the best way to brace your skinny arse up, aren’t I?” Donna located his knee and gave it an experimental nudge. “Can you get your giant head back against the edge without drowning?” 

The Doctor managed it. Barely. But when he started to slip again, he managed to catch himself against Donna’s surprisingly steady foot. “Oh!” he said, realizing. “That works a treat!” He braced against her a little more purposefully and the stinging stretch in his back started to ease up. “Donna, you are _brilliant!_ ” 

“Yes, I make a fabulous two-by-four,” Donna said sarcastically, but shifted around a bit. “Here, let me…” Her other foot tickled up the inside of his opposite thigh, much higher, making him jump and nearly dislodge them both.

“Donna!” 

Donna looked much pinker than usual, but she bristled right back. “What’s your leg doing all the way over here?! Clearly I’m trying to― Get your other knee up, would you?” 

The Doctor grumbled, but lined both knees up. “You could _ask,_ ” he pointed out. 

“Like you _asked_ me to get in here in the first place?” Donna huffed an exasperated sigh, but her toes curled over his other knee as well, nearly tentatively. “There― should be stable enough.” She must have extended her legs or locked her knees or something because the pressure solidified, providing an excellent brace. “Better?” 

The Doctor pushed himself up a bit, experimentally, and then settled. “ _Much_ better!”

“Fab,” Donna said, but settled back herself. “You’d better not have a foot thing!” 

“A what?” the Doctor asked, stretching a bit now that he could. 

“Never mind,” Donna rolled her eyes. “You owe me a proper beach after this!” 

“This _is_ the beach!” the Doctor argued. “We’re _currently_ at the beach!” 

“Do you _really_ want to find out what happens if I kick you right now?” Donna asked, toes curling. 

“…I’ll have the TARDIS run another search for beaches.” 

“That’s more like it.” Donna sighed and let her head loll back a bit, eyes closing. “This isn’t half bad once the stinging wears off…” She stretched slightly, and her toes clenched and unclenched over his knees. 

“It makes sense that the local population would have worked out a tolerable treatment,” the Doctor said. “Those jellies are probably older than they are.” 

“Mm,” Donna hummed. Her toes scrunched absently, an unconscious habit he hadn’t observed before. 

He tried not to pay too much attention to it, counting his own heartsbeats instead. 

Donna relaxed back into the side with a sigh. “Oh, fine! I’ll admit it! This is better than the medbay!” She slid down further, bracing casually against him. “Think I could talk the TARDIS into a view like this for my bathroom?” 

The Doctor looked at the scene beyond the two-way barrier. The turquoise tides were starting to come in, reflecting the light violet skies in little eddies between the rocks. “Coming around on it, are we?”

“Well, it’s better without the stinging,” Donna admitted, lounging more purposefully. Without the imminent threat of cardiac arrest, the Doctor became increasingly aware of their proximity. It was starting to feel less like a medical procedure and more like taking a bath with his best mate. 

He took a look around the chamber and then around the landscape, and then around the chamber again. There wasn’t anything particularly noteworthy to focus on. No danger. The planet didn’t even have proper predators, just the occasional overly-defensive invertebrate. And, as Donna had pointed out, they were unlikely to encounter another one of those on land. He tilted his head around, reviewing the scene. There weren’t even any clouds, just miles of sand and sea and sky. 

“Can you not just sit still for five minutes?” Donna asked, and he realized he’d been shifting to look more actively. 

“Course I can,” he said, but now that she’d mentioned it, his toes felt very strange, sliding against each other, and it was like he could feel every inch of skin getting saturated in the gel. Not to mention his _legs_ …

Donna sighed noisily. “Be honest, by Time Lord standards are you basically a toddler? It would explain a lot.” 

He squinted at her. “Do you really want me to try explaining how age works again? You said it made you dizzy the last time. And then you got a bit violent.”

“Because you _called_ me _middle-aged!_ ”

“ _Technically…_ Ow! Don’t _kick_ me!! What did I _just_ say about the violence!?”

“I can just sit on my side and let you drown!” Donna threatened. 

“You’re the one who brought it up again!” he pointed out, but sat back. He was pretty sure she’d reconsider before his respiratory bypass gave out, but he wasn’t keen to find out how the gel would feel in his sinuses. 

He leaned back, looking up at the cloudless sky, and Donna resettled.

“So,” she said after two hundred and thirty-eight heartsbeats, “how often do you do this, then?” 

He glanced back down. “Do what?” 

She gave him a wry smirk. “Trick women into stripping down and taking a bath with you.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous.” He sniffed. “This is a medically necessary intervention!”

Donna scoffed. “I bet you say that to all the girls.” 

He scoffed right back. “You humans and your hormones. It’s a wonder you get anything done at all!”

“Oh, go on.” Donna nudged his right knee, toes scrunching. “You can tell me!” She scrunched again. “How many times did Rose and Martha run into ‘medically necessary interventions?’” 

The Doctor cleared his throat. “Rarely!” 

“But not _never?_ ” Donna was looking more and more like a great ginger cat who’d just figured out she was bathing in cream. 

“Stop it!”

“Poor Doctor,” Donna crooned. “Of all the people in the Universe, you’re stuck taking your sexy medical bath with me.”

The Doctor blinked. “Who else would I _want_ to be stuck with? You’re my best mate!” 

Donna looked away, pursing her lips, but her toes curled _hard_ against his knees. He cocked his head at the curious response, but before he could ask, she visibly realized he could feel that. Wide eyes flicked toward the middle of the bath and several things happened very rapidly. 

Without any warning, and for no discernable reason, Donna jerked her feet back toward herself. 

The Doctor, who had been braced quite comfortably, immediately lost his purchase and the next thing he knew, he was finding out firsthand just how uncomfortable the gel was on his unprepared nasal cavity. And ears. And eyes.

There was a muffled shout, and then two hot human hands were dragging him back above the surface. 

“Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!” Donna chanted, still muffled by the sludge now obscuring his ears. 

He scraped a hand over his face, got the worst of it off on the second try, and managed to get his mouth clear on the third. “Don-na! What’d you do _that_ for?!” 

“I said I was sorry!” She took her own swipe over his eyes, but it only made it worse. 

“Don- _na!_ ”

“Right, just―“ She moved and he immediately slipped again, hearts jumping into his throat at the lurch. “Oh, for―“ Something blunt caught him in the chest― too large to be her arm. 

“Is that your _knee??”_

She slapped his hand away. “Don’t _grab_ anything! Just―!” The pressure increased uncomfortably. 

“Ow! Stop _kicking_ me!” 

“I’m trying to grab the― Hang on―!“ Her knee slid down and across, replaced by what could only be her thigh, spanning the length of his ribs. 

“Wh―?!” 

“ _Don’t_ touch!” she warned, pressed close enough for him to feel the underlying musculature flexing. “Just a little― Ha!” Her palm replaced her hip, pinning him by the sternum and something dry scrubbed roughly over his face. 

“Mphh!” He grabbed the fabric himself, scrubbing more effectively and cracked one eye open, “What the _hell,_ Donna?!” He shifted to a new part of the ceremonial cloth, getting the worst of it off his face and starting on his ears. 

“Is it my fault you’re basically a giant lubed-up newt?! You startled me!” In spite of her tone, she was still trying to help, alternating between the cloth and her own hand through his hair. 

“I was just sitting here! _Like you told me to!_ ” He cleared his sinuses as best he could into one corner of the fabric. “That _stings!_ ” 

“I _said_ I was sorry!” 

The Doctor turned to argue the point and caught a look at far more of Donna than he’d ever seen, _right_ at eye-level. He wrenched his head back the other way, slamming his eyes shut. “ _Donna!_ ” 

“Oi!” She yelped, ducking back down, sloshing liquid everywhere. 

He caught her hand before she could snatch it back. “No, don’t!”

Her fingers flexed against his chest, but she didn’t pull away. After only a moment, she pressed back more purposefully. “I didn’t do it on purpose the first time!” There was a tense pause and then she resumed fussing with his hair. “It’s not… It’s not actually going to _hurt_ you, is it?” 

“Course not.” The Doctor cracked an eye open, confirmed that she was back below the surface, and turned to glare properly. “I don’t recommend it though!”

Donna scoffed, very focused on one sideburn. “Sorry,” she mumbled. 

He eyed her. “I wasn’t trying to _offend_ you.” 

“No, I know!” Inexplicably, she seemed to get a bit flustered. “It’s just… Is that true?” 

“Of course it is. Don’t dunk me again!” He tried to look threatening, but got distracted by Donna’s unmarred shoulder. “On the upside, it looks like we can get out soon!” 

Donna was already back to frowning. “How do you mean ‘looks like?’” 

He brushed her hair away from the back of her neck and cleared some gel with the side of his hand. “Not even a scar.” He shucked some off her shoulder. “Looks like it even cleared up that sunburn from earlier.” 

Donna’s head snapped down. “The _what_ from earlier?!” She swiped her décolletage clear, trying to get a look at it. 

The Doctor jerked his head away again, staring pointedly in the opposite direction. “It wasn’t a bad one. Quick spin with the dermal regenerator and you’d have been good as new.”

“Is my face burned?” Donna’s hand went up automatically, but he could see it stop short of touching. 

“No, it’s fine.”

“How can you even tell? You’re not even looking!” 

He slanted his eyes back over. “Could you try to make up your mind today? Should I be looking or not looking?”

“Oh, shut up and tell me if I have a sunburn on my face!” 

He elected to ignore the first part of that to deal with the second. “You don’t have a sunburn. There. Happy?” 

“Don’t get snippy with me! You want me to let go and let you figure out how to get out of this thing with your weird eel body?” 

“Ah.” The Doctor had not, in fact, thought that through to its logical conclusion. “Right… How _should_ we…?” 

Donna went a bit pink, but he was wise enough not to reopen the sunburn conversation. “Are you going to keep sliding around like a squid on dry land?”

The Doctor snuck a hand back, testing the dry tiles. “No, I should be able to manage.” 

“Outstanding,” Donna drawled, eyeing the limited space. “…All right, you can brace up on my shoulders and just,” she made a rolling gesture with one hand, “lever yourself up. Yeah?”

“Er,” he said. “Yes. That should work.” He swallowed. “Um… Now?” 

“No, go on and give it an hour to be safe,” Donna said sarcastically. She sidled over, unceremoniously wedging one knee between his. 

“Donna, what―?!” he yelped, trying to snap his legs together and catching hers between, making them both jump. “What?!”

“What, did you think I meant I’d brace from way over there, somehow?” Donna nudged his knees wider. “Budge up!” 

He reluctantly let her maneuver between his legs. The whole endeavor was feeling less and less like a medical procedure by the minute. “Er.” 

“Right,” she said, not looking any clearer on where to go from there. “Well.” She pulled her hair back and moved her arms forward, grabbing the ledge. “Go on then.”

He tentatively put his hands on her shoulders, half expecting a slap and a shout. “…Just… brace up then, shall I?” 

“Yeah, what, do you want a motivational speech? Let’s go, Spaceman!” Before he had to ask, she scrunched her eyes closed and turned her head as far to the side as she could. 

“Right.” He had to put most of his weight into it, but Donna was surprisingly steady. “…Have you done this before?”

“Yeah, all the time. Haven’t I said?” Even her shoulders felt sarcastic. “Can you hurry it up?” 

It was probably a good thing that there weren’t any Time Lords left to be ashamed of how ungracefully he managed to lever himself up and out, flopping over the side like a cephalopod throwing itself out of a tank. A few questionable maneuvers later, he managed to get to his jacket and yank out the towels he’d put in the pocket with some spare trousers. Everything got a lot easier from there. 

“Much better!” he said when he got the trousers up. 

Donna jumped. “Oi! Don’t just shout―!” 

“Do you want a towel?” the Doctor interrupted. 

Donna cracked one eye open and then the other. “Where’ve you been keeping _those?!_ ” 

“Pockets,” he reminded, and came over to the side, holding the towel up helpfully.

Donna rolled her eyes. “ _I_ didn’t look,” she reminded him pointedly. 

“Look! Don’t look! Touch! Don’t touch! Are we playing some strange version of Simon Says?” The Doctor closed his eyes, holding the towel up blind now. 

There were a series of slick sounds that he tried not to pay too much attention to, running through fuel conversions in his head as Donna tugged the towel loose and started a whole new series of sounds. “…Don’t suppose you have any of _my_ clothes in there?” she asked doubtfully. 

He thought about it. “Hand me my jacket?” 

“What, are you serious?” 

She passed it over and he dug in the left pocket for the jumpsuit she’d been uninterested in for the factory tour. He also pulled out the swimsuit she’d never bothered to change into. For options. “Here you are!” 

“You kept that?!”

“What, was I going to just leave it on the floor?”

“You’re a hoarder. Admit it.” 

“Are you really going to argue with me about it _right now?_ ” 

Donna grumbled, but started up a new series of sounds, rustlier this time. After two minutes and forty-seven seconds, she tapped him on the shoulder. “All right. I’m decent.” 

The Doctor looked around, already digging in his pocket for the henley he was pretty sure he had stashed. “That’s a strange word, decent. Completely subjective and horribly culturally biased, decent. Nearly incomprehensible as a concept, decent.” 

“Don’t start!” Donna warned. “You’re still coasting on sympathy for how pathetic you looked sliding around like a gecko in a glass of milk.” 

“Is this the _sympathetic_ response?” the Doctor asked disbelievingly. He yanked the henley over his head and turned with a flourish. “There we are! Good as new!” He noticed a few streaks of gel still in Donna’s hair. “Hold on―“ He stepped closer, took the edge of his own towel, teased it out, and finger-combed it back into place. "There now! Wasn't so bad, was it?" He smiled brightly. 

Donna had a completely illegible look on her face, but she whirled away before he could ask. “C’mon, Spaceman!” She grabbed his hand without looking. “We can’t lie around in the bath all day!”

**Author's Note:**

> I’m also on [tumblr](https://1-of-those-things.tumblr.com/).


End file.
